Navi's Final Wish
by DreamerofLegends
Summary: "Navi... Navi, where art thou? Come hither..."


"Deku Tree... Deku Tree, I'm home."

The tiny, exhausted call floated into the still air, breaking the peaceful hush. The whirl of tired wings announced the little fairy's presence; she fluttered into the secluded grove and settled herself on the ground a few feet from the massive, former guardian of the Kokiri Forest. But though the Deku Tree that had raised her was long gone, his consciousness slumbering with the Goddesses, a hearty (though respectfully hushed) voice answered her whispered greeting.

"Navi? What are you doing here?" Asked the fat little seedling perched comfortably between his father's roots, a lone beam of light shining on his normally smiling, cheerful face. "Has Link... Has he-?"

The young guardian looked quite unsure of what to say next, but Navi smiled patiently and explained. "Yes, yes, he's won. Ganondorf has been defeated and sealed away... forever." The last word trailed out at the end of a profound yawn. Little Navi stretched, brushing back her long blue hair.

"Hey..." The Deku Shrub breathed, a little worried. "Hey, your light is dimming. I can see you clearer now." He paused sheepishly. "You're awful pretty Navi, I can see why my father spoke so highly of you. But are you okay?"

"I'm just tired." She insisted, waving her hands and pooh-poohing his worries away. She forced a smile, though her lower lip trembled. "We've been back and forth through time so much I'm not even sure where I am anymore."

The Deku Shrub looked as if he knew how she felt. "Come up and rest on my leaf, Navi." He suggested gently. "Some sunlight would do you good. It's always tasty, no matter what time of day!"

This time her smile was not so forced. She got up, brushed the dirt from her clothes, and didn't bother to mention that only trees and plants could eat sunlight.

The short flight was quite a bit harder than she expected though, and she bobbed and wobbled unsteadily in the air before she finally managed to gain enough height. The effort left her heart racing, though she tried to keep her breathing regular so as not to alarm the Deku Shrub.

He was more alert than she bargained for. "I can feel you trembling. Are you sure you're okay?" The worry in his tone was hardly concealed now. Navi thanked him silently for his concern, even as she discarded it.

"I'll be fine once I rest for a bit, thank you." She said softly, flopping down rather ungracefully, one hand hanging limply in the open air. She could care less how she looked right now, she was so _tired_.

The grove was silent for a while, each inhabitant lost in their respective thoughts. The Deku Shrub wanted badly to ask how the adventure fared, for the days passed slowly here and he was hungry for new tales of the outside world. He was only young, after all, and the patience to live as an ages old sentry in an almost unchanging world would only come with time. He was respectful enough not to press his guest when she was so obviously ailing though.

Finally, to his delighted relief, she broke the silence on her own.

"... Deku Shrub, I hope you don't mind my asking," She paused for a second to gather her breath. "... But how are you here? When Link broke the curse on the Forest Temple, you were able to be born, but not before."

The Deku Tree's son adopted a pensive look; his two leaves swayed gently in the air as he thought about it. "Well," he spoke after a brief pause. "I think it must be because Ganondorf has been sealed away. His very spirit has been locked inside the Sacred Realm, so it's like he never existed in the first place." He stopped for a while, letting the words sink in.

"So, since he's not here anymore, or, since he never _was_ here, the Temple of the Forest won't be cursed?" Navi asked softly, not bothering to even raise her head. "That's rather confusing. Technically we didn't _do_ anything, then, since there is nothing needing to be done."

"You and Link faced countless perils and risked your lives to cure this place." The Deku Shrub said seriously, without so much as hesitating to draw breath. "Just because it won't happen now doesn't mean it hasn't happened before. You accomplished a very great thing together, don't forget that."

"I won't." Navi whispered, even more softly than before. So quietly, in fact, the Shrub did not even hear her whispered vow.

Silence covered the pair for a long time after. Navi dozed in and out of the waking world, doing her best not to fall completely asleep just yet, though she knew she must eventually. She had one more thing she needed to do first. She forced herself to sit up straight, though it took so much energy she was afraid she would merely collapse again. The Shrub felt her stirring, and it roused him from his own inner musings.

"Navi?"

"Deku Shrub, can you promise me something?" She asked, fluttering her wings gently to keep herself steady. The young tree sensed the solemnity in this request, and answered without hesitation.

"I know my father loved you Navi. I have my memories of him inside myself, and you are a big part of them. Whatever you desire, name it and it will be yours."

Navi felt tears of gratitude and bitter loss well in her eyes, but she bit them back so that her request would be understandable. But instead of delving right into what she wanted, she sidetracked for a moment by offering up the glorious and exciting story of how Brave Link, the mighty Hero of Time, stood against the Evil Lord Ganon and defeated him.

The Deku Shrub was thrilled, and spent the next hour patiently listening, enthralled by the fairy's descriptive imagery and rich story-telling abilities. He didn't say anything when Navi had to pause to gather her strength enough to continue.

She told him of how Link had battled his way tirelessly from the very bottom of Ganondorf's tower to the peak, conquering all sorts of challenges left and right. She told of how the evil, haunting sound of Ganondorf's wicked organ had scared her, and how he had smiled gently and told her she needed to be brave for him.

She explained her own desire to be as courageous as her dear friend, of how she would never hide from a battle again, no matter what.

When they had finally reached the tower's top room, she remembered how the fire within the hero's eyes had blazed at the sight of his beloved princess trapped in the Dark Lord's crystal prism. But even with such righteous fury, it was a long and terrible battle, made almost unbearable by the waves of crushing Darkness that kept Navi, a creature of Light, fully at bay. She remembered clinging to the inside of Link's hat during the course of the battle, trying to be brave and cheer him on silently.

And when at last the fighting was done and she emerged, she remembered how happy she had been to see Link and the princess Zelda reunited at last. The joy on both of their faces made her heart swell up like never before. But it was a short-lived victory, for with his final breaths, Ganondorf had placed a curse upon his castle, a curse that would crumble the whole thing to dust, with all of them trapped inside.

The Deku Shrub found himself shivering inside as she recounted in a trembling voice how terrified she had been at that moment. She had never been more scared in her life, though her fear was not for herself. She had wings, she was small, she could have easily flitted through any one of the many windows and out into the night, away from the collapsing tons of stone and debris. Her fear was for Link, and for Zelda, who could not escape.

Somehow, Zelda was able to use enough of her magic to keep the tower alive long enough for the three of them to get away safely. She remembered flying to Link in haste and apologizing again and again for not being strong enough to help in the fight. She had broken her promise to herself, but he had assured her that it was all right. He was just happy to be alive.

Of course, then the unthinkable had come to pass. The Triforce of Power, filled with Ganondorf's hatred for Link, Zelda and all of Hyrule, had slipped beyond control, mutating Ganondorf the King of Darkness into Ganon, a vile beast of evil. Navi had steeled her courage at last, and had assisted Link in defeating the monster once and for all, no matter how much poisonous darkness leaked from his form.

When she was finished with the story, she sighed, and seemed to slump a little, rapidly losing the battle to stay awake.

"You were so brave Navi." The Deku Shrub gushed quietly. "Standing against all that evil energy all by yourself..." His leaves shuddered gently the way a human head would shake incredulously. "No hero could have stood alone against such might. Without you, Hyrule would have been doomed."

The fairy blushed in embarrassment, deeply pleased that she had been able to do something to help for once. The ghost of the smile beaming in her heart made it to her lips, making her face glow peacefully. She murmured her thanks, her head nodding absently.

The Deku Shrub prodded her gently. "You said that you needed me to promise you something?" He reminded her.

That seemed to spark some life into her at last. "Oh yes!" She cried, clapping her hands once feebly. "I need you to promise me one thing, Deku Tree."

He paused, momentarily taken aback by her formal use of his title. Technically speaking, though he was the guardian of the forest, he was not yet a fully grown tree. So the Kokiri children often referred to him as the Deku Shrub instead, until he was ready to take up his father's mantle completely. It was obvious to him in the next few moments though, that Navi's exhaustion was so great it had rendered her a bit confused as to where she actually was.

"Link is still just a boy." She whispered, a fragile edge appearing in her voice for the first time. "He might not understand that I had to leave him. He might not understand why."

Tiny, glittering fairy tears fell from her eyes, infinitely precious, for they we're filled with nothing but love.

"I think all of that dark energy must have done something inside." She pressed a hand over her heart. "I couldn't stand up to it before. And when I did, when I summoned the courage to stand by Link no matter what, I guess something must have given out on me."

She sighed once, but did not mourn long. "I know it's time for my sleep. I'll rejoin the spirits in the forest, and get to see all of the Deku Trees that came before!"

The Deku Shrub listened silently, afraid that if he nudged her at all she would break.

"I'm a little scared though. I don't know what will happen to me. I didn't want Link to see that anything was wrong, I didn't want him to worry, so I didn't tell him where I was going. But..." She hesitated, her voice cracking. "But I want him to know I'll still be beside him, no matter what. Will you tell him that, Deku Tree? Will you please tell him that I love him?"

He couldn't respond for many moments, moved past words for the love and admiration he held for this delicate creature. "Of course, Navi." He assured her in a whisper. "Of course."

"Thank you." She sighed, a sound that was almost pure release. She let go of her worries and her fears, let the wind take them away so she could lie in peace.

She stood up after that, flapping her tired and weary wings back and forth in preparation for what she must now do. The Deku Shrub watched with a heavy heart as she began her labourous flight up into the boughs of the previous Deku Tree, his father.

_I hope Link will stay out of trouble, wherever he goes._ Navi thought to herself, as she struggled and struggled to keep herself aloft. _He'll probably go on many more adventures before his life's journey is through._

Her wings locked for a moment in dismay when she realized that she wouldn't be able to join him on any of those adventures. But slowly, before she fell too far, she reasoned with herself that her promise would always hold true.

_I said I would always be there for him, and I meant it. Even if I can't be there for him in this world, I won't ever be far from his heart._

There was no doubt within her, and each beat of her wings testified of that truth even when she was past thinking, and all she wanted was to give up and spiral back to earth.

Finally, finally, she reached the Deku Tree's leaves, growing old and rotting even as he did. There was no softer perch in the world to her though, and she settled in gratefully. Her last thoughts were of Link still, as they would always be.

_He'll make new friends, make people smile, and he'll be happy. _It was as much a prayer as a hope. _Maybe he'll even find a new fairy to guide him. I just hope she knows how lucky she is..._

She drifted off, wrapped in the scent of the Deku Tree she had so dearly loved, cradled by the wind and her warm memories.

"I love you Link." She breathed, even as her heart ceased to beat. Her leaf trembled with the echo of her sigh and broke from it's branch, swaying gently in the breeze this way and that...

But when it touched the ground for the first time, it did so alone.


End file.
